By Adadareporters
Frank Omale, outgoing principal of the Federal Government College, Okposi in Ebonyi State, has been caught while carting away stolen belongings of the college in his SUV.
A viral video showed some youths of the area displaying the contents of the goods found in the boot of Omale’s SUV, apparently meant to be evacuated for his personal use. He was caught at Onugo, a community close to the college, by some youths who claimed to be on his trail following his alleged involvement in misappropriating property of the college.
Some of the items displayed on the ground from the vehicle of the principal include books, detergents, cream, red oil, some branded towels, toiletries, bags containing vital items and stationery.
In the video, his captors were heard saying that the principal packed some food items, including beans, belonging to the school, for his personal use. They were quoting the principal as claiming that the items found in his vehicle were his personal belonging. “He also claims that they were used to set him up,” one of the youths said.
A youth leader, one Fabian, a lawyer, said in a telephone interview that, “I was there live. The principal in question is outgoing because he is on transfer. It is not the first time he has been making away with goods supplied to the secondary school by the federal government. He was doing it more when he claimed he wanted to renovate some buildings. He would tell parents to contribute some quantities of paint. After the collection, he would not use them for the purpose they were brought. He would sell them to contractors and pocket the money. There is a hiace commuter bus donated to the school by the federal government. No one can give accounts of what happened to that bus.
“In this latest one, he was caught with some laptops, books, toiletries, detergents, stationery, and others. He drives a 4Matic Mercedes SUV. We knew he would do such, and trailed him from the school gate. We stopped him on the road, and told him to open his booth. While we were removing these items from his vehicle, he called the soldiers. When they came, we told them that we were not bullying the principal. We also told them that it was police that should come and not the military.
“I then called the chairman of Oha-Ozara LGA and informed him. With the help of the chairman, the principal was taken to Obi Ozara Police Headquarters for further investigations. He had a previous case of stolen scraps in the same police station. I don’t know how he survived it. But this one is still on.”
When contacted, the principal admitted being a principal of Federal Government College, Okposi. He was told to state his own side of the alleged looting of the belongings of the college, but he declined.
According to him, “Sorry Sir, I am a civil servant. I am not allowed to grant interviews.” When he was told that it was about his person, he asked, “Person how?” and maintained that, “I am a civil servant. I am not allowed to grant any interview. Sorry Sir.”
